How I Met Your Fathers
by royalstandard
Summary: Caroline Forbes explains to her teenage twins who their fathers are, and how it's possible they don't have the same dad. AU TVD, post-season 3
1. Prologue

"Hey kids, this is a story about your dear old mom and how I met your fathers."

The two kids sitting on the couch stared blankly at her as Caroline smiled nervously at them. The realization of what she'd just said had dawned on them, she knew, but they were so surprised by the statement they could do nothing but stare at her in stunned silence.

"I know... I've never told you that you have different fathers-"

"How is that even possible?" Knox asked, interrupting her. Glancing over at his twin sister, he raised his eyebrows and looked back at their mother in reproval.

"It's... complicated," Caroline admitted, smiling a grimacing smile and sighing. This was going to be more difficult than she'd imagined. She'd put off telling them this long, and they were teenagers. Teenagers were able to ask many more questions than little kids. She should've just manned up and told them when they were eight like she'd promised herself she would do.

"Apparently..." added Piper as she looked down at her hands and raised her eyebrows as if she'd only been saying the word to herself and no one else had heard it.

Standing from her chair, uneasy in the growing awkwardness among them, Caroline planted her hands on her hips and paced back and forth in front of them. "Listen, this is hard enough for me to tell, so just let me tell it, okay?"

The twins gestured in unison for her to continue, and she took a deep breath.

"It all started with a blizzard and a mechanical bull."


	2. It Happened One Night

(Winter, 2012)

Caroline had lived in Mystic Falls her entire life, and she had never seen it snow as hard as it was coming down outside. It was like hail, except it was soft and generally innocent other than the fact it was piling up so quickly in the streets that cars were racing to get home to avoid it. She loved snow, and she loved wintertime, but she didn't enjoy the idea of being caught in the Mystic Grill for who knew how long until it stopped.

Unfortunately, she'd spent the last two hours telling Matt her sob story, complaining about her life, and now she was stranded here. Matt had long gone home, along with most of the Grill's employees, leaving her standing alone staring out at the snow with her arms hugging her upper body against the cold outside that she couldn't even feel. Being a vampire did that to you.

She no longer felt heat or cold, and she was a steady 98 degrees at all times. It was nice not to worry about sweating or freezing to death, but that didn't make her impervious to a blizzard. Even she couldn't run fast enough to make it home before the snow piled up and began covering the front door. Already bored, she moved away from the door and fiddled with the jukebox, flipping through the songs she'd been listening to since she was a kid.

Suddenly, the floor door flew open, spewing snow and cold air inside and surprising her out of her daydreams. Looking wide-eyed at the intruder, she watched as he stomped the snow off of his boots and pulled his jacket off of his head where he'd had it covering his hair against the dumping snow.

"Klaus," she practically spat as she recognized him. Glancing over at the sound of his name, Klaus smirked slightly at her and walked away, ignoring her and heading for the bar. Unable to resist in her boredom, she followed him, stalking after him as he slid over the bar and grabbed a bottle of bourbon from the shelf. There was no bartender, so it was basically self-serve at this point.

"Can I help you, Caroline?" he asked impishly, opening the bottle and pouring himself a glass which he downed like it was water.

"You're already drunk," she stated accusatorially. He shrugged and drank another whole glass before responding.

"What does it matter to you, love?" he asked with a tweak of his eyebrows and a pointed look. "You're not my mother, and you're not my lover, so stop worrying so much about me, Caroline. People will begin to talk."

Winking at her, he rounded the bar in a flash and was standing right in front of her before she could blink. "You could have taken me up on my offer, you know," he pointed out drunkenly, brushing a blond lock of her hair back from her face and admiring the shape of her jawline.

"Stop touching me," she hissed, smacking his hand away. He glared at her and caught her wrist. "You don't tell me what to do," he growled, pushing her away and going back for more alcohol.

"Is there a problem here?" asked a familiar voice. Caroline sighed in relief as she turned to face Stefan who was standing behind her with a pool stick.

"Actually, there is," Klaus piped in, holding up a bottle of rum in one hand and Jack Daniels in the other. "I'm not drunk enough, and Caroline has decided to reprimand a centuries-old hybrid." He drank directly from the whiskey bottle and spun around in a circle.

Caroline gave Stefan a pained look and rolled her eyes. Stefan smiled slightly and shrugged. "Since we're all stuck here until the snow lets up, how about a game of pool?"

Glancing back at Klaus who was now singing an Irish drinking song to himself, she huffed and nodded, finding her own pool stick to play. She spun the stick in her hand as she stepped up to the pool table and watched Stefan setting up the balls for the opening shot. "Where's Elena?" she asked, finding it strange that he was here by himself.

Stefan's jaw clenched as he leaned over to line up his shot, and he didn't respond right away. Smacking the cue ball perfectly, it split the others with precision before he stood and responded. "She's... elsewhere."

"It's... complicated?" she asked, lining up her own shot, aiming for the blue and white striped ball teetering on the edge of one of the pockets.

"It's complicated," he confirmed, leaning on his pool stick and brooding silently.

"It's not THAT complicated," came Klaus's voice as he arrived next to the table cradling his Jack Daniels in one arm. "Elena is foolish not to want you, Stefan. She's probably sleeping with Damon as we speak."

Caroline turned and shot Klaus a death glare which he ignored, while Stefan ignored him, his jaw clenching tighter. She knew he still had feelings for Elena - everyone knew - but she also knew Elena was torn between the two Salvatore brothers. It was a vicious triangle, and she wished her friend would just make a decision already. Life was only going to get uglier the longer it drug on. Ever since Elena was turned into a vampire, she was bloodthirsty and not like herself, and Caroline imagined Damon loved it. She was like a fresh-21 year old in a world of liquor and parties. Klaus may be right: with Elena out of her mind with bloodlust and adjusting to the vampire life she'd never wanted, she may just be spending too much time with the older Salvatore brother.

Whatever the case, she didn't like how it was affecting Stefan. Stefan had been the main proponent in training her to control herself when Katherine had changed her, and she'd considered him a valuable friend since then.

"How insensitive," she murmured irritably. Klaus laughed and sat on the side of the pool table as Stefan's turn ended and Caroline began lining up the next shot.

"We all know it's a possibility. There's no point in denying it," he commented nonchalantly. "Stefan's thinking it. That's why his jaw looks as if it's about to explode." Klaus smiled that irritatingly adorable smile of his as Stefan's cheek twitched again from his teeth clenching.

"I say we do something more... entertaining to get our minds off of life," Klaus offered, standing and drawing the attention of the only other two people in the entire establishment. "It's snowing... we're stuck here, and I'm bored. We all know it's a bad thing when I'm bored."

Stefan nodded in agreement as Caroline raised an eyebrow and threw out one hip as she stood watching the original hybrid. "What do you have in mind exactly?"

Klaus turned to face them, walking backwards as he reached the jukebox. One finger punched the keypad, programming in a playlist as he kept moving, reaching an alcove near the back of the establishment Caroline had only seen used for private parties. Curious, she followed him and heard Stefan following after her. Gripping the hem of a huge piece of black fabric draped over the contraption in the alcove, Klaus ripped it away to reveal a mechanical bull. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stood watching him with a slight frown on her face. Stefan snorted, and she looked over at him to see he was shaking his head and laughing.

"A mechanical bull," he stated simply, looking at Klaus out of the tops of his eyes in characteristic-Stefan fashion. Klaus beamed triumphantly just as the music on the jukebox kicked in. The song was an upbeat number, perfect for getting the blood flowing and making you want to dance.

"Come on, you two," Klaus drawled plaintively, beckoning them closer. "Stop moping about and have some fun. We're stuck here together, and I don't want to hear Stefan crying over Elena any more than I want to listen to Caroline reprimand me like a child. So start having fun before I have to start inflicting pain to entertain myself." His eyes flashed dangerously, and Caroline didn't doubt he was serious.

"And that's EXACTLY what's wrong with you!" she exclaimed indignantly. "You're always having to prove you're the big bad alpha, and it's annoying! It ran Tyler out of town, and it's driving me insane." She threw her hands up in frustration, and she didn't realize Klaus was advancing on her before it was too late.

His hands grabbed her hips, and she felt herself flying through the air. She had just enough time to shriek before she landed on top of the bull and had to cling to the saddle to keep from falling off. "First ride, princess. Loosen up before I kill us all in annoyance."

Fuming and glaring down at Klaus as Stefan stifled another chuckle, she shifted her weight to get comfortable on the saddle as it began rocking back and forth. The speed was slow at first, easy to manage, and she allowed herself to cool off for the moment. Although she hated to admit it, Klaus was right, and she didn't want to be angry the entire night if they were going to be marooned here.


	3. The Inbetweeners

The music got beneath her skin and caught her up in the moment. Ultimately, Caroline wasn't a negative person, Klaus just irritated her. He'd been so sweet over the past few weeks, and then he'd been in Tyler's body, and things had just gone down hill from there. When she'd kissed him while he was still in Tyler's skin, she knew that was why Tyler had really left Mystic Falls.

Because he knew she'd already figured out it was Klaus and she'd kissed him anyway.

She couldn't deny it or she would be lying. She had known Klaus was being 'stored' in Tyler's body to save them all from certain death. She'd figured it out when he'd been acting strangely, treating her differently than he usually did. It wasn't Tyler's way, but it was identical to Klaus: the way he spoke, the way he carried himself, all of it. Then, when she'd kissed him, the kiss had been different. She hadn't noticed it that first time in the cave because she'd been too worried that she was going to lose Tyler. This time, however, she'd felt it. It was a different kind of kiss, a gentle, questioning kiss instead of the usual easy kisses Tyler gave her. And she hadn't stopped. She'd kissed him back; she'd kissed Klaus.

Tyler had seen it all through his own eyes as she kissed another man. It was peculiar, how they were in this supernatural world where such a strange thing could happen. Without control of his own body, Tyler had been helpless to watch his girlfriend willfully kiss Klaus. The moment he'd been freed, he'd left town, claiming to be searching for long-lost relatives or some baloney that she didn't believe. She had seen it in his eyes; he knew.

Closing her eyes, one hand drifting over her head to help maintain her balance as the bull picked up speed, she allowed the machine to whip her back and forth to the beat of the music. She began smiling, allowing herself to relax. Tyler wasn't the only one who knew about the kiss. Obviously, Klaus did as well, and that was why things between them were so awkward. She was mean to him to keep him from questioning her, and she imagined he was drunk for similar reasons.

The bull kicked back and forth, flinging her around wildly, and she laughed with joy as it bucked. She was truly enjoying herself, and although she had a lot on her mind, she could just relax for once. Klaus was right - although she hated to admit it - she needed to loosen up.

All too soon, the bull slowed and she climbed down, giddy from the ride. Giggling, she stumbled slightly, Stefan catching her and steadying her. "Okay, it's time to do shots," she proclaimed, to which Klaus raised his glass of rum in a toast and Stefan eyed her amusedly.

Standing on her own, she positively skipped to the bar and grabbed a bottle of tequila from the shelf. Perching herself on the bar top, she poured out three shot glasses, sliding one to each of the boys and taking one for herself. "To snow!" she toasted, gulping the shot easily. Klaus was next, setting his rum bottle down long enough to intake what was at least his fourth alcohol of the night. Stefan hesitated and then downed his, a determined look on his face.

"What's wrong, mate?" Klaus asked him, holding up his shot glass for Caroline to refill as she swung her feet and raised her eyebrows, wondering the same thing. Stefan shook his head and allowed her to refill his glass.

"I'm just tired," Stefan said finally, drinking his shot before they could toast anything. Giddy from the bull ride and the shots of tequila, Caroline slid down off the bar and poured another round, holding hers up for Stefan to toast. "Here's to forgetting then," she offered, tinking her glass with Klaus's and then with Stefan.

"Forgetting..." Stefan repeated, guzzling the shot and holding up his glass for yet another.

They were through one bottle of tequila and half of another when Caroline realized she was getting drunk. It took more since she'd become a vampire, but it still felt good. The buzzing sensation in her head, the music pounding in her ears: it was a magical experience and she was forgetting all of her worries over the past few weeks. Ten more shots into the second bottle, and she found herself dancing to the music, grabbing Stefan and Klaus both to dance with her. Even Stefan had loosened up, and he danced with them as the music rose and fell.

Her blond curls fell around her face, and she laughed giddily, lost in the moment in the dim lighting of the Grill between them. Klaus's hands cupped her hips and his chest pressed against her back. She didn't fight him, but she leaned into him, allowing her innermost inhibitions free. She was attracted to him despite the fact he was a psycho killer, and she couldn't resist the pull she felt toward him now that she was inebriated. Reaching forward, her arms laced around Stefan's neck, pulling him toward her until she was pressed against him, sandwiched between the two of them.

The mixture of the music, the alcohol, and the atmosphere made her reel intoxicately, and she danced provocatively between the two of them. Two men so drastically different, yet so alike. One girl wild and carefree as she had once been before life had brought her down. Three people forgetting about their cares and worries and letting themselves go for one night.

Easily, Stefan leaned over, kissing her on her lips, and the touch was like a strange, slow fire burning in her veins. Caroline kissed him back, pulling him down toward her even as he pushed in to the kiss. She wondered - in whatever sober part of her mind remained - if this was how it felt when Elena kissed him. But she knew she didn't care. Stefan was kissing her now, and it would always be unique for both of them. She pulled away, her skin feeling hot and her breaths coming in ragged bursts. Klaus touched her shoulder, pulling her blond curls away from her neck and kissing her hotly on the soft skin where her jaw met her neck. She moaned in pleasure and leaned her head away, allowing him full access to her.

The fingers on her left hand gripped Stefan's shirt as he kissed her mouth again, moving down her jawline as Klaus kissed down her shoulder, moving her hair so he could reach her skin. Her right hand dug animalistically into Klaus's thigh as she leaned back against him. The three of them lowered to the floor, a mass of bodies entangling and dancing to their own private dance. She kissed Klaus, and then she was kissing Stefan, and they were kissing her, and before she knew it there were no clothes between them and their skin was sticky and wet with sweat.

She danced with both of them, a slow dance with Stefan followed by a fast dance with Klaus and so on for hours. Their stamina was endless, being vampires, and the pleasure was almost more than she could bare. Her throat grew raw from her screams of pleasure, and her muscles ached but she wanted more. It was only the three of them in her mind, and nothing else existed for her. After hours of endless passion, she fell asleep between them, her mind and body full relaxed for the first time in months.


End file.
